Many Dorchester residents will know St Mary's Church, in Edward Road, not only as a place of worship, but a venue for concerts, events and celebrations.

Churches are costly buildings to construct and maintain and St Mary's is no exception. As the church is relatively modern, it has records of the costs involved in building and equipping it, and the ways in which these costs have been met. 

When the foundation stone was laid on April 21 1910, it must have been an act of faith, as it seems there was virtually no money available. But as soon as the work started, a generous donor came forward, giving £2,500 – that's £300,000 in today's money – to pay for the chancel and this also enabled the building of the Blessed Sacrament chapel, the vestry and sacristy with two bays of the nave and aisles.

Another parishioner offered to pay for the rest of the work but then reneged, leaving a huge debt which wasn't cleared until 1928. 

Having one or two big donors would have been welcomed but it is the parishioners who made up the shortfall through their own generosity or by working together at countless, small fundraising activities.

When finished, it was a plain building, even when furniture and many artefacts were carried in from the temporary church, known as the Tin Tabernacle, at Top o' Town.

The pulpit and the chancel screen were given by Edwin Pope in 1914. One small stained glass window was in the original building and then all the others were the gifts of individuals over the succeeding years.

The most recent windows – the Magnificat window completed in 1945, then costing £475, which would now be £20,000, and the Sidgwick window in 1961 – were the gifts of two individuals, one of whom also gave the chapel railings, the pieta, the communion rail and the choir stalls at different times. 

Last summer, the church's architect spent several days surveying the fabric of building for what is called a 'Quinquennial Inspection', from the Latin meaning 'every five years' – although it had been about seven since the last inspection at St Mary's.

The resulting report found that parts of the church roof are in need of immediate repair, while the rest of it will need to be replaced at some point in the next few years.

No precise cost for this work has been given yet, but it is likely to run to hundreds of thousands of pounds. This, combined with the dramatic increase in the cost of energy, approximately tripling the church's recent bills, means that those running the St Mary's face a significant challenge keeping those who use the building warm and dry this winter. 

The church is undertaking the work on the fabric of the building while also discerning a new call to welcome and serve our local community, with a long-awaited servery installation to be completed this this autumn.

The church would be welcome any donations on Gift Day, to be held on Sunday, September 10, or during the ensuing season of fundraising, to help keep the church warm and dry for the use of the community,

You can make a donation online at https://pay.sumup.io/b2c/QPIGYSMP? or by scanning the QR code below.